


five coffees and one jasmine tea

by mina_sterling



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 5 Times, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Coffee Shops, Dorks in Love, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Gay Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Meet-Cute, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, happy zuko is best zuko, written in quarantine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23727643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mina_sterling/pseuds/mina_sterling
Summary: Sokka doesn’t know what to say to the cute boy who works at his favorite coffee shop. Lucky for him, he seems to be doing just fine.Or - Five times Sokka tries to get the barista to like him back, and the one time he actually succeeds.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Suki/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 172





	five coffees and one jasmine tea

**Author's Note:**

> AN: My school has officially been cancelled for the rest of the year. The prom and graduation I’ve been looking forward to since I was little has been ruined. I am super sad and disappointed. :(
> 
> However, I know that’s not what’s important. I am blessed to remain healthy and to have a healthy family. A lot of people can’t say the same, so I’m trying not to be too angry about missing high school memories, but it’s still disappointing. I don’t want to wallow in pity, so I decided to turn this to a good thing and maybe bring a little joy to people in this tough time.
> 
> There are three things that never fail to make me smile, and they are ATLA, cute boys, and coffee shop AUs, so why not combine them? I hope you all like it and please leave any criticisms you have!! It’s not very good since I mostly wrote it to make myself feel better, so please don’t judge it too harshly aaa
> 
> I hope you have a good day and God bless you during this tough time :) <3
> 
> EXTRA INFO: can you tell i have no idea what different coffees are?? i’m lactose intolerant and coffee makes me feel sick so i don’t drink it, and when i do, i only get frappucinos. i’m sorry to any coffee fans who might be insulted by my lack of knowledge. if you want to know the extent of my ignorance, please note i had to google what an americano was.

i.

Coffee with his friends was always a good time.

Sokka always looked forward to these kinds of days - lazy afternoons basking in the sunlight while working on homework and drinking coffee. This shop was right by campus, and owned by a kind old man who didn’t mind the younger crowd coming in after a long week of schooling. He was always smiling, willing to tell a joke or a story to anyone who would listen, and Sokka and his gang of feral friends were always willing to listen. This earned them a permanent spot in the comfiest corner of the store, and permanent discounts on any and all drinks, just because they were super polite regulars.

Being regulars, they knew all the workers on a first name basis, enough to even recognize them on the streets. This meant that when the owner hired someone new, they all took notice.

Sokka especially.

The new hire was _easily_ the cutest guy on staff. He had a jagged jawline that could cut through metal, and harsh eyes that glowed like a furnace, and hair as dark and cold as a night sky. A large scar was covering a third of his face, and raced from the bridge of his nose to the edge of his ear, and was an instant question - what kind of ruffian earned that kind of scar? Was it a fight, was it a sad story, was it something you acknowledged but never asked? In contrast to his rough lines, he had such pretty lips, the prettiest lips any guy could have, and a downward glance that hinted at a reserved and shy nature. His nose was round and his cheeks were permanently rosy despite never seeming to smile. Was he super shy, or did he just not like people?

Might as well find out, in any case.

And after just fifteen minutes of admiring from afar, Sokka turned away from the beautiful man and asked his friends for their orders.

“It’s my turn today to get them, isn’t it?” answered Aang, who was already quickly typing away on his laptop - some environmental science project or whatever that he was days behind on. “I don’t mind. Just give me… a few seconds…”

“We all know you’re late on your work,” replied Sokka, checking his reflection in the window behind his friends, straightening out his ponytail and fixing his collar. “I really don’t mind.”

Aang just nodded, eyes glued to his screen and hands flying across the keyboard. “Cool, thanks. Americano.”

“Got you.” Sokka nodded towards his sister. “Katara?”

“You always hate ordering for us. What’s changed your mind—“

As she glanced up and saw the new guy at the barista stand, her face changed from curious to unimpressed. She glanced at her brother with an expression that read “really?”

“Flirting with the barista again? They won’t give you any free drinks no matter how hard you try!”

“Whoa, hey, it’s nothing like that, Katara,” Sokka argued, holding his hands up. “I’m just a guy who finds another guy cute, and I’m going to go flirt with him. It’s no big deal.”

“He’s new, don’t bother him!”

“I won’t. If he doesn’t like me, I’ll leave him alone. But you’ll never know unless you try!”

Katara stared at her brother in disappointment for a long beat, then sighed with an air of reluctance. “Fine. Good luck with whatever you do. Just don’t forget my iced mango dragonfruit tea, please.”

“You want the most disgusting drink to exist, got it.” He gave her a thumbs up before turning to the others. “Toph?”

She pondered for a moment while gliding her fingers effortlessly across the raised Braille of her textbook. She shrugged before saying, “Iced cold brew with cold foam.”

“Classic. And Suki…?”

He didn’t even bother to finish asking, since Suki and her girlfriend, Ty Lee, were busy holding hands, talking quietly, and giggling to each other. He figured he knew them well enough to guess their orders, and stood up from his chair. Dusting off his perfectly clean jacket and jeans, he made his way over to the counter, where the cute barista boy was just finishing up someone’s drink.

As soon as they were finished, Sokka slid into his view with a wide smile. The barista did not return it, and instead looked a little surprised.

“Hey!” greeted Sokka. “I haven’t seen you around here before, and me and my friends are here pretty often. Did you just start?”

The guy nodded slowly. “Uh… yeah. My uncle just finished training me a few days ago.” He glanced behind Sokka to the table he came from. “Are you all the regulars from the college nearby?”

“Yep! We’re here whenever classes end,” he answered. “I can’t believe Iroh talks about us. But I don’t remember him mentioning a nephew. What’s your name?”

“It’s Zuko. Can I… take your order now?”

“Right, that’s what we’re here for.” Sokka crossed his arms and leaned forward on the counter, glancing up at the menu. “Uh… I need one large Americano, absolutely no dairy, but lots of espresso. My friend is halfway through some major project and it’s due in two days, so he needs it.”

Sokka was hoping that would spark some further conversation, but Zuko the barista simply input the order without any comment. Throughout Sokka’s experience at The Jasmine Dragon, all the baristas had been conversational with him. Iroh loved to talk, way up until their orders actually became cold. Some weirdly hot barista also chatted frequently, but mostly about his plans to destroy the power imbalance the 1% made against the working class, and there were a lot of words Sokka didn’t really understand so he couldn’t keep up, but it was still fun. Even the odd goth girl who was there sometimes talked, mostly to complain, but at least he got some form of attention.

He would just have to try harder with this guy.

And so, with a clearing of his throat, Sokka ordered, “A large green tea frappucino with coconut milk and no whip. It’s my friend’s, and she gets it every time. It’s too safe, you know?”

The barista just nodded. Sokka nodded in turn, feeling a bit of his confidence slip away with every second.

“One medium iced cold brew with cold foam. An extremely boring drink, if you ask me.”

Finally, Zuko gave a little chuckle, and Sokka mentally pumped up his fists. “I couldn’t agree more. Why even go to a coffee shop if you’re just going to get something cold?”

“Right? Or a plain coffee.” Sokka rolled his eyes. “Ugh, don’t even get me started on people who get plain iced coffee when they can easily make it at home. I’m super embarassed whenever my friends order one.”

Zuko laughed a little louder this time, easily warming up to his customer. Not that he was bragging or anything, but Sokka was amazing when it came to talking to cute people.

“Alright… now I need two disgusting teas. One small passionfruit and raspberry iced tea with a lemon, and one large mango and dragonfruit iced tea with extra ice.”

“I really hope that’s not yours,” replied Zuko with a small smile, “or else this meet-cute will end very disappointingly.”

“Oh, no, never! Those flavors taste so artificial. They’re for my weird sister and our friend.” Sokka flashed his most charming grin, and gloated, “I consider myself a drink connoisseur. I would never subject my amazing palate to something so terrible and sugary.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’s some big talk to say to the nephew of a coffee shop owner.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s true. I have impeccable taste. I think I could impress anyone with how much I know.”

The barista crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, mimicking Sokka’s pose. He had a small smirk on his soft and shiny lips that could make anyone’s heart skip several beats, and Sokka himself nearly lost his composure witnessing something so dangerously attractive on someone who had been absolutely adorable for the last several minutes.

“Do you _really_ think you can impress me?”

Sokka really wanted to reply with something akin to I can impress you in more ways than you could imagine, but stuck with the honest and much more innocent, “Of course. I can out-coffee you any day, barista boy.”

“Alright then.” Zuko straightened, still smiling confidently, and Sokka was still not over it. “I’ve tasted everything on the menu, so I know what’s good and what’s not. How about a game? If you can order my favorite drink here, you win.”

Sokka straightened up quickly. “Win? What do I win?”

“What do you want?”

Overall, this challenge seemed easy enough - everyone’s favorite drink was who they were as a person. Aang was a vegan who needed lots of coffee to destress, so an Americano was obvious. Katara worked way too hard, so lots of sugar and sweetness was a good way for her to relax. Even the baristas themselves had obvious favorites - the weird hot anarchist liked double espresso lattes, and the goth girl drank black coffee with no cream or sugar just for the aesthetic. Zuko would be an easy order to figure out, and Sokka would then win--

“I want your phone number!”

Instantly, he regretted saying it. He could feel his cheeks beginning to burn, and watched as Zuko’s face turned even rosier. If Katara were here, she definitely would’ve hit him in the back of the head for being too forward… but it wasn’t bad to shoot your shot, right?

Feeling guilty, he quickly added while looking away, “I mean, if you don’t mind.”

“Actually… I don’t mind at all.”

Sokka instantly glanced back at Zuko in shock, who just had his same cute little smile from before. He returned it nervously.

Zuko turned to input the order, and asked, “So… what do you think I like?”

“Hm… well…”

There were a lot of options, a lot of customizations, but from previous conversation, Sokka knew to eliminate those right away. That meant no weird teas, no iced drinks, and nothing with ice in it. Someone like Zuko probably liked real coffee, but nothing too plain or extravagent…

Sokka tapped his chin as he thought. “I know you hate sugary things, and you don’t want something easy to make at home, and nothing cold… you seem like the kind of person to live off of coffee.”

Zuko shrugged. “Maybe. I’m not going to make it easy on you.”

“Oh, but you already have. I know what your favorite drink is.” He pointed dramatically to the menu board. “It’s a classic, but never gets old. It’s safe, but not too risky. You could drink it at any time of the day, whether for comfort or alertness. Plus, it tastes really good. Your favorite drink… is salted caramel cappuccino!”

“What? No.”

“Huh?”

“My favorite drink isn’t cappuccino,” he said, laughing a little. “They’re garbage. They’re the weakest coffee ever.” He shook his head dramatically. “It was a safe guess, but I prefer tastier things.”

Sokka stood in silence, staring at the menu board as Zuko put in his order information. He did play it a little safe… a little too safe, in fact, since Zuko now felt the need to admonish his efforts. Granted, Sokka did choose a pretty standard, weak drink - who even drank cappuccino at places like this, anyway?

Honestly, the fact he got it wrong wasn’t even an issue - it was the fact that he missed out on getting the cute barista’s phone number. All this effort to build a meet-cute sufficient enough for a Lifetime movie would be gone to waste. Unless--

“Hey, I’m coming by sometime again soon,” Sokka said quickly, shuffling around in his pockets for his wallet. “Would you mind it terribly if I tried again next time?”

He handed over a wad of bills, and Zuko took them. The barista hummed in thought as he carefully counted the money out.

“Hm… well, you’re pretty cute, so I guess I don’t.” He handed back the change with a smirk. “Just don’t pick something so terribly boring next time, ‘kay?”

Sokka gave a confident laugh. “Oh, I already know your favorite drink. You’ve revealed too much information.”

“And you haven’t given me enough.” Zuko handed him the receipt. “What’s the name for your order?”

“Oh. Right.” He shot him some finger guns. “I’m Sokka.”

“Sokka, huh? Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

* * *

Sokka returned to his friends with a tray of teas and coffees, easily distributing it around. Aang took his Americano without a glance and mechanically began to drink. Toph downed half of hers in ten seconds. Suki and Ty Lee shared their orders like the cute little oddballs they were, happy in that blissful isolation happy couples get in public.

Only Katara, master of reading her brother’s emotions, saw the small disappointment in his features. After a long sip of her sugar water, she asked, “What’s wrong? Did hitting on the guy not work out?”

“Oh, it did, Katara. It worked really well, actually.” He sighed and looked to the ceiling, head resting back on his chair. “The only bad thing is that he called my favorite drink terrible.”

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I'm sorry if it wasn't good, but this was all just for fun. :)
> 
> feel free to follow me on twitter!! @minatowne


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